The present invention relates generally to end closures for containers, and more particularly to two-piece end closures which include a stationary base and a recloseable cap.
Prior art end closures having a stationary base and a recloseable cap may be integrally molded as a single piece, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,080. Alternatively, the base and cap may be made as two separate pieces, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,062,796, 2,069,930, 3,695,481 and 4,000,839.
The present invention departs from these and other prior art end closures by providing a two-piece end closure in which the recloseable cap is secured to the stationary base when the cap is open to prevent loss of the cap. The cap can be attached to the base in an assembly operation without having to rotationally orient the cap relative to the base.
The stationary base includes a through opening for dispensing the contents of the container and an annular trough extending substantially 360.degree. around the opening. The recloseable cap includes a disc shaped cover portion which extends over the opening of the base. An elongated attachment lug is connected to the cover portion by a flexible connecting wall extending between the cover portion and the lug. The lug is frictionally received at any circumferential location in the annular trough, so that the lug is received in the trough during assembly without requiring rotational orientation of the cap relative to the base. When the cap is in the open position, the lug and connecting wall retain the cap on the base so that it will not be misplaced.
In a second embodiment, the invention also provides a second attachment lug radially opposite the first attachment lug. The second attachment lug is connected to the cover portion by a second connecting wall. The second connecting wall includes a reduced thickness frangible tear section which may be broken when the cap is initially opened. In this manner, the second lug and second connecting wall assure that the cap cannot be opened prior to purchase without the torn portion providing a visual indication to the purchaser that the end closure has already been opened.